Jordan: Vital As Buffer

March 20, 2014 By Ebony Brown

While the loss of the monarchy in Jordan would be a national disaster for that nation (“A Kingdom Too Weak To Let Fail,” March 7), it has even more serious implications for Israel and U.S. Mideast policy. Jordan has served as a buffer between the now satellite of Iran, namely Iraq, and Israel, preventing Iran from arming terrorist groups in the Palestinian territories.

The possibility of the overthrow of the monarchy by Jordan’s majority Palestinian population is sufficient reason for Israel to demand in any peace treaty with the Palestinian Authority that the Jordan Valley be retained to impede the flow of
sophisticated weaponry from Iran to the Palestinians. In the worst of scenarios, the presence of Palestinian rule in Jordan with open borders to the Palestinian territories would present an existential threat to Israel.